Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-11-08
THE WIDOW OF 4 CHILD.

III w lt'oN VI II Natitb'
1t was during the hunting season at the
Chateau De Banneville. The autumn had
been rainy and Gloomy. The red leaves,
instead Of Is>tling beneath the feet.
ru.-a! in the burrows under the heavy
showers.
The well nigh naked forest WIS as damp
IS a bathing establishment As the hunter
entered it and trudgcd along over the wet
rrass and Soggy soil under the great storm
beaten trees he found himself cnveloped
by Il nOiSome yapor with musty smell
His dogs also seemed affected by the
wrptChCd weather, SO detected did they
look, as. with dropping tails and reeking
skins. they trottcd along close behind his
heels.
In the main parlor after dinner we had
been playing lotto IL kill time, while gusts
of wind ratified the windows and on the
outside made the Old weathcrCocAs spin
like tops. Finding but little pleasure in
the game We tried our hands al story tell
ing, jus, rs people are s;tid to do in books,
huJ No one invented anything amusing.
The hunters related adventures that had
occurred To them willie out shooting
massacres Of rabbits, while the ladies
rackcd their brains in futile attempts to
discover Schchcrazade' inspiration
We were on the point Of giving mp this
species of entertainment also when
Young lady, thoughtIessly toying with the
hand Of her maiden aunt, noticed on ors
Of the Old lady's fingers small ring
made of light hair. She had frequently
seen this trinkct. but had never before
paid any attention 10 it.
As she gently turned the ring around
her aunt,s finger she asked:
''By the by. auntie, what ring is this'
II looks like the hair Of n child
The Old maid blushed, became pale,
then, with q faltering voice, she said:
at is 50 sad story that l never like to
speak ot it. 1t was the one great misfor
tune Of my life. l was quite young when
it all happened, and yet the memory of it
is so painful that | still shed tears when
ever | think about it,
As a matter of course all wanted TO
hear the story. The Old maid at first
refused to tell IT, but finally she yielded to
car solicitations. and began rs follows:
you have often heard tell of the San
teze family II is now extinct. but / was
acquainted with the three last men of that
race i hkN III tlLtil tlit Ntiiilt utGti llls
ring is the hair of the last one. He was
thirteen years old when he killed himself
ON my account. That seems very strange
TO you. does il not?
Oh. they were singular race, insane, i.
you wish. but the most charming lunatics,
crazcd by love. All, from father to son.
were n prey to violent passions; to great
impulses, which made them enthusiasts in
III q Y.,..1,-f.,.1- H..
they would hot have hesitatel at crime
In them this passion was what ardent de
votion Is in certain minds. Those who be
come Trappists are not of the same nature
as our drawing room butterflies. In our
family we used TO say: In love Ike San
tezc." They all had curly hair and beard.
and large eyes. the iicht Of which seemed
ID penetrate and disturb ones soul. though
il would have been hard 10 say why.
The grandfather of the one of whom
this is the only souvenir | have, after
many adventures and duels, at the ace of
Gj fell bliudly in love With his farmers
daughter / knew both Of them. She
was pale blonde, of distinguished ap-
pearancc. with a sof; voice, and so gentle
look that she seemelsl Madonna The old
nohlenaan took her 10 his house. and be-
be happy minute unless ne was in her
company. His daughter aid step daugh-
ter, who lived in the chateau with him.
found this quite natural, so traditional
lad love become in the family. Nothing
surprised them if passion had anything To
do with the ease, and if they happened To
hear Of broken ties, of parted lovers. even
of revenge being taken after betrayal
th.r- hot h tR-,,tfi Ia ia t1rn OF
voice: 'Oh! how he lor sheS must have
suffered" Nothing else. They only
grew tender over dramas of the heart
and never displayed any i'll feeling. even
when these dramas illuminated in crime
Well, one autumn NJ. de Gradelle, a
young man who had beeu invited TO take
part in the chase, went of, taking the
young girl with him.
Mr.. De SinteZe remained perfectly cool.
as if nothing had happened; hut few
mornings after he was found in lis dog
kennel, hanging amidst his dogs.
His son died in The same woy at hotel
in Paris. While spending some time i'll
that city in 1871 he become cnamorad Of
an opera singer. As tie lady did not re-
turn his love lac hanged himself.
lie left behind him a son II years old.
ard a widow. my mothers sister. They
came to live with Us, at Iiy fathers place
at BCrtilloR. / was al the tine IL years
Of a-c.
You cannot imagine what remarkably
prcc0cious child this little Santczn Was. 1t
looked Us il all the tenderness. all the en-
thusiasIn Of the whole race had fallen to
this one. the last of the name. lie always
seemed 10 be in a dream, and for hours he
would walk all alone in the long avcuuc If
elm trees which leads from tie chateau to
the woods. From my window | would
notice the sentimental lad stepping
gravcly along, Lis hands behind Ii, back,
his eyes cast down, now and then stopping
to look up, as if he saw and understood
and felt things that were beyond his years.
Often. after dinner, on moonlit nights.
lie woGld say to me: Come, cousin, let
us 80 out to muse And then we would
start out together through the park. lie
would stop abruptlr in front of the clGdcs
where iioated that white vapOr, that light
wadding with which the moon pads the
opening between the trees; then he would
say to NE, as he pressed my hand: ..See
that, See. But you do not understand
me; l know you don't. II You did, we
would be happy. One must love TO IN
derstand.' | would laugh and kiss the
child that waS 50 much attached TO me.
Often, also, after dinner, he would sit
on my mothers knees. Now. aunt ''
would he say, tell IRE some love stores"
And mother, for fun. would relate To him
all the legends Of his family, all the pas
sionate adventures of his forefathers, and
of these there were not fcw-thousauds
and thousands of them were spoken Of
true as well as false. Ii was the r,put:.-
tion of these men that destroyed I!.,m
Their minds would &c; worked ~. and
then they gloried in keeping up tbs family
fame.
The little fellow would become ami
mated over these tender or terrible Garra-
tives, and at times he would clap his
hands as he would repeat over and over:
Il, too, know how TO love, and better
than any Of them
And then he began courting NO in a
timid and tender manner that made every
body laugh, SO odd did it seem Every
rnpruinr I received ~ l,Inrh nf ,ip,y.rs